Medway: School district to hire social worker

MEDWAY†- After a lengthy discussion, the school committee approved the job description for a social worker position to work within the district.

When the social workerís job description came up for approval, School Committee members Dawn Rice Norton and Richard Eustis asked why the issue wasnít brought forward during the budget planning process, which began in late 2013.

Superintendent Judy Evans said school personnel brought the issue to her recently. The school committee at its last meeting first discussed the issue.

Currently, the one contracted social worker, who began this school year, responds when needed at the middle and high schools.

But due to the "increasing number of students who have family difficulties" and other problems, the district is considering adding the job into the budget, Evans said.

This year alone, 30 high school students were referred for "additional outside support," she said, and some of them were hospitalized or evaluated for their own safety.

Norton and Eustis were also part of a subcommittee that was tasked with looking at funding options for full-day kindergarten. The committee ultimately approved a $1,000 reduction in fees for full-day kindergarten.

Norton said during the kindergarten discussions, the committee was told that there was no room in the budget to support providing the full-day program for free.

"Iím just not fully comfortable with this becoming part of the budget," she said.

Eustis added that the contracted social worker provided "flexibility to adjust the commitment" on an as-needed basis.

Evans said with the removal of the contracted costs and other reductions in staff will enable the district to bring a social worker on at a lower cost than a contracted worker.

She added that some positions within the district sometimes tasked with addressing a studentís social and emotional needs will not be returning next year.

Dean of Student Services Dorothy Pearl said the number of students needing social and emotional support "hasnít gone down" and splitting one contracted social worker between three buildings "isnít cost effective."

After the lengthy discussion, both Norton and Eustis voted to approve the position in a 4-0 unanimous vote.

In other news, the committee began discussing whether to administer the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) or the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for†Colleges and†Careers (PARCC) next school year.

Evans said a preliminary vote will be needed at the commitee's next meeting so the state Department of Education can assess how many tests will be needed.

Zachary Comeau can be reached at 508-634-7556 and zcomeau@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZComeau_MDN.